Читать книгу Made in Great Britain - Tom Quinn - Страница 29

The Somerset Levels once covered hundreds of square kilometres of waterlogged swamp, which were filled with wildfowl and waders. It was inhabited by isolated groups of hardy individuals who eked out a living by weaving baskets from the willows that grow abundantly in the area, catching eels and other fish, and trapping birds. Much of the Levels have been drained, but the flat landscape – reminiscent of the East Anglian fens – retains at least something of its ancient atmosphere.

Rising out of this wide, flat landscape is a solitary, little-visited hill known as Burrow Mump. At the top of the hill is a ruined church. It was here in 1645, at the height of the Civil War, that the defeated remnants of King Charles’ army retreated after they were defeated at the nearby Battle of Langport. They were pursued by the Parliamentarians and finally routed.

The church on the mump was rebuilt in the 18th century, but never completed, and the ruins were beautified in the early 19th century to make an attractive folly – a sort of fake antique building more often found in the grounds of great estates.

Burrow Mump has been owned by the National Trust for more than half a century. It has associations with nearby Athelney, where King Alfred is said to have held court, and it offers the most glorious views from its summit – out across the levels as far as Glastonbury Tor some 16km (10 miles) away.

SECRETS

While you’re there

Visit nearby GLASTONBURY TOR, which has its own hilltop church.

Secret place to stay

THE MOUNT SOMERSET, Lower Henlade (mountsomersethotel.co.uk). This gracious Regency country house enjoys beautiful views.

The ruined church on Burrow Mump.